Vlachs Etymology
What is the etymology of vlachs?
What is the etymology of the word Vlachs?
The word "Vlach" is etymologically derived from the ethnonym of a Celtic tribe, adopted into Proto-Germanic *Walhaz which meant "stranger", from *Wolka- (Caesar's Latin: Volcae, Strabo and Ptolemy's Greek: Ouolkai).  Via Latin, in Gothic, as *walhs, the ethnonym took on the meaning "foreigner" or "Romance-speaker", and was adopted into Greek Vlahi (Blakhoi), Slavic Vlah, Hungarian olah and olasz, etc. The root word was notably adopted in Germanic for Wales and Walloon (German: Welsch), and in Poland Wlochy became an exonym for Italians. Via both Germanic and Latin, the term started to signify "stranger, foreigner" also in the Balkans, where it in its early form was used for Romance-speakers, but the term eventually took on the meaning of "shepherd, nomad". The Romance-speaking communities themselves however used the endonym (they called themselves) "Romans". During the early history of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans, there was a social class of Vlachs in Serbia and Macedonia, made up of Christians who served as auxiliary forces and had the same rights as Muslims. In Croatia, the term became derogatory, and Vlasi was used for the ethnic Serb community.  Romanian scholars have suggested that the term Vlach appeared for the first time in the Eastern Roman Empire and was subsequently spread to the Germanic- and then Slavic-speaking worlds through the Norsemen (possibly by Varangians), who were in trade and military contact with Byzantium during the early Middle Ages (see also Blakumen).  The term "Vlach" is used in scholarship for the Romance-speaking communities in the Balkans, especially those in Greece, Albania and Macedonia. CANNOTANSWER
The word "Vlach" is etymologically derived from the ethnonym of a Celtic tribe, adopted into Proto-Germanic *Walhaz which meant "stranger",
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Eastern Romance-speaking subgroups of Central and Eastern Europe.

As a contemporary term, in the English language, the Vlachs are the Balkan Romance-speaking peoples who live south of the Danube in what are now southern Albania, Bulgaria, northern Greece, North Macedonia, and eastern Serbia as native ethnic groups, such as the Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians and the Timok Romanians. The term also became a synonym in the Balkans for the social category of shepherds, and was also used for non-Romance-speaking peoples, in recent times in the western Balkans derogatively. The term is also used to refer to the ethnographic group of Moravian Vlachs who speak a Slavic language but originate from Romanians.

"Vlachs" were initially identified and described during the 11th century by George Kedrenos. According to one origin theory, modern Romanians, Moldovans and Aromanians originated from Dacians. According to some linguists and scholars, the Eastern Romance languages prove the survival of the Thraco-Romans in the lower Danube basin during the Migration Period and western Balkan populations known as "Vlachs" also have had Romanized Illyrian origins.

Nowadays, Eastern Romance-speaking communities are estimated at 26–30 million people worldwide (including the Romanian diaspora and Moldovan diaspora).

Etymology and names

The word Vlach/Wallachian (and other variants such as Vlah, Valah, Valach, Voloh, Blac, oláh, Vlas, Ilac, Ulah, etc.) is etymologically derived from the ethnonym of a Celtic tribe, adopted into Proto-Germanic *Walhaz, which meant "stranger", from *Wolkā- (Caesar's , Strabo and Ptolemy's ). Via Latin, in Gothic, as , the ethnonym took on the meaning "foreigner" or "Romance-speaker", and was adopted into Greek Vláhoi (), Slavic Vlah, Hungarian oláh and olasz, etc. The root word was notably adopted in Germanic for Wales and Walloon, and in Switzerland for Romansh-speakers (), and in Poland Włochy or in Hungary olasz became an exonym for Italians. The Slovenian term Lahi has also been used to designate Italians.

Historically, the term was used primarily for the Romanians. Testimonies from the 13th to 14th centuries show that, although in Europe (and beyond) they were called Vlachs or Wallachians (oláh in Hungarian, Vláchoi (Βλάχοι) in Greek, Volóxi (Воло́хи) in Russian, Walachen in German, Valacchi in Italian, Valaques in French, Valacos in Spanish), the Romanians used for themselves the endonym "Rumân/Român", from the Latin "Romanus" (in memory of Rome). Vlachs are referred in late Byzantine documents as Bulgaro-Albano-Vlachs ("Bulgaralbanitoblahos"), or Serbo-Albano-Bulgaro-Vlachs

Via both Germanic and Latin, the term started to signify "stranger, foreigner" also in the Balkans, where it in its early form was used for Romance-speakers, but the term eventually took on the meaning of "shepherd, nomad". The Romance-speaking communities themselves however used the endonym (they called themselves) "Romans". Term Vlach can denote various ethnic elements:  "Slovak, Hungarian, Balkan, Transylvanian, Romanian, or even Albanian". According to historian Sima Ćirković, the name "Vlach" in medieval sources has the same rank as the name "Greek", "Serb" or "Latin".

During the early history of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans, there was a military class of Vlachs in Serbia and Ottoman Macedonia, made up of Christians who served as auxiliary forces and had the same rights as Muslims, but their origin is not entirely clear. Some Greeks used "vlachos" as a pejorative term. In Žumberak members of the Greek Catholic Church were called Vlachs, in Carniola residents of Žumberak in general were Vlachs. In Posavina and Bihać area Muslims called Vlachs as Christians (both Orthodox and Catholics) while Catholics under that name consider Orthodox Christians. For residents of the Dalmatian islands population of immigrants (either Croats or Serbs) were called as Vlachs. The name Vlach in Dalmatia also has negative connotations as "newcomer", "peasant", "ignorant" while in Istria the ethnonym Vlach is used to make a distinction between the native Croats and newly settled   Istro-Romanian old catholic Vlachs and Slavic population which was coming in the 15th and 16th century.

Romanian scholars have suggested that the term Vlach appeared for the first time in the Eastern Roman Empire and was subsequently spread to the Germanic- and then Slavic-speaking worlds through the Norsemen (possibly by Varangians), who were in trade and military contact with Byzantium during the early Middle Ages (see also Blakumen).

Nowadays, the term Vlachs (also known under other names, such as "Koutsovlachs", "Tsintsars", "Karagouni", "Chobani", "Vlasi", etc.) is used in scholarship for the Romance-speaking communities in the Balkans, especially those in Greece, Albania and North Macedonia. In Serbia the term Vlach (Serbian Vlah, plural Vlasi) is also used to refer to Romanian speakers, especially those living in eastern Serbia. Aromanians themselves use the endonym "Armãn" (plural "Armãni") or "Rãmãn" (plural "Rãmãni"), etymologically from "Romanus", meaning "Roman". Megleno-Romanians designate themselves with the Macedonian form Vla (plural Vlaš) in their own language.

Medieval usage

The Hellenic chronicle could possibly qualify to the first testimony of Vlachs in Pannonia and Eastern Europe during the time of Attila.

6th century 
Byzantine historians used the term Vlachs for Latin speakers.

The 7th century Byzantine historiographer Theophylact Simocatta wrote about "Blachernae" in connection with some historical data of the 6th century, during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Maurice.

8th century 

First precise data about Vlachs are in connection with the Vlachs of the Rynchos river; the original document containing the information is from the Konstamonitou monastery.

9th century 

During the late 9th century the Hungarians invaded the Carpathian Basin, where the province of Pannonia was inhabited by the "Slavs [Sclavi], Bulgarians [Bulgarii] and Vlachs [Blachii], and the shepherds of the Romans [pastores Romanorum]" (sclauij, Bulgarij et Blachij, ac pastores romanorum —according to the Gesta Hungarorum, written around 1200 by the anonymous chancellor of King Béla III of Hungary.

10th century 
Chroniclers John Skylitzes and George Kedrenos wrote that in 971, during battles between Romans (Byzantines) and Rus' people led by Sveinald (Sviatoslav I), the dwellers of the north side of Danube came to Emperor John I Tzimiskes and they handed over their fortresses and the Emperor sent troops to guard the fortresses. During those times, Northern part of Danube were dwelled by sedentary Vlachs and tribes of nomad Pechenegs who lived in tents.

George Kedrenos mentioned about Vlachs in 976. The Vlachs were guides and guards of Roman (Byzantine) caravans in Balkans. Between Prespa and Kastoria they met and fought with a Bulgarian rebel named David. The Vlachs killed David in their first documented battle.

Mutahhar al-Maqdisi, "They say that in the Turkic neighbourhood there are the Khazars, Russians, Slavs, Waladj, Alans, Greeks and many other peoples".

Ibn al-Nadīm published in 938 the work Kitāb al-Fihrist mentioning "Turks, Bulgars and Vlahs" (using Blagha for Vlachs)

11th century 

Byzantine writer Kekaumenos, author of the Strategikon (1078), described a 1066 revolt against the emperor in Northern Greece led by Nicolitzas Delphinas and other Vlachs.

The names Blakumen or Blökumenn is mentioned in Nordic sagas dating between the 11th–13th centuries, with respect to events that took place in either 1018 or 1019 somewhere at the northwestern part of the Black Sea and believed by some to be related to the Vlachs.

In the Bulgarian state of the 11th and 12th century, Vlachs live in large numbers, and they were equals to the Bulgarian population.

12th century 
The Russian Primary Chronicle, written in ca. 1113, wrote when the Volochi (Vlachs) attacked the Slavs of the Danube and settled among them and oppressed them, the Slavs departed and settled on the Vistula, under the name of Leshi. The Hungarians drove away the Vlachs and took the land and settled there.

Traveler Benjamin of Tudela (1130–1173) of the Kingdom of Navarre was one of the first writers to use the word Vlachs for a Romance-speaking population.

Byzantine historian John Kinnamos described Leon Vatatzes' military expedition along the northern Danube, where Vatatzes mentioned the participation of Vlachs in battles with the Magyars (Hungarians) in 1166.

The uprising of brothers Asen and Peter was a revolt of Bulgarians and Vlachs living in the theme of Paristrion of the Byzantine Empire, caused by a tax increase. It began on 26 October 1185, the feast day of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, and ended with the creation of the Second Bulgarian Empire, also known in its early history as the Empire of Bulgarians and Vlachs.

13th century 

In 1213 an army of Romans (Vlachs), Transylvanian Saxons, and Pechenegs, led by Ioachim of Sibiu, attacked the Bulgars and Cumans from Vidin. After this, all Hungarian battles in the Carpathian region were supported by Romance-speaking soldiers from Transylvania.

At the end of the 13th century, during the reign of Ladislaus the Cuman, Simon of Kéza wrote about the Blacki people and placed them in Pannonia with the Huns. Archaeological discoveries indicate that Transylvania was gradually settled by the Magyars, and the last region defended by the Vlachs and Pechenegs (until 1200) was between the Olt River and the Carpathians.

Shortly after the fall of the Olt region, a church was built at the Cârța Monastery and Catholic German-speaking settlers from Rhineland and Mosel Valley (known as Transylvanian Saxons) began to settle in the Orthodox region. In the Diploma Andreanum issued by King Andrew II of Hungary in 1224, "silva blacorum et bissenorum" was given to the settlers. The Orthodox Vlachs spread further northward along the Carpathians to Poland, Slovakia, and Moravia and were granted autonomy under Ius Vlachonicum (Walachian law).

In 1285 Ladislaus the Cuman fought the Tatars and Cumans, arriving with his troops at the Moldova River. A town, Baia (near the said river), was documented in 1300 as settled by the Transylvanian Saxons (see also Foundation of Moldavia). In 1290 Ladislaus the Cuman was assassinated; the new Hungarian king allegedly drove voivode Radu Negru and his people across the Carpathians, where they formed Wallachia along with its first capital Câmpulung (see also Foundation of Wallachia).

14th century 
The biggest caravan shipment between Podvisoki in Bosnia and Republic of Ragusa was recorded on August 9, 1428, where Vlachs transported 1500 modius of salt with 600 horses. In the 14th century royal charters include and some segregation policies  declaring that "a Serb shall not marry a Vlach." Although this could be related to the term of the same origin, used for dependent shepherds of that time, like in the Dušan's Code, since the dependent population was encouraged to switch to agriculture, it being of more worth to the crown.

Toponymy 

In addition to the ethnic groups of Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, and Istro-Romanians who emerged during the Migration Period, other Vlachs could be found as far north as Poland, as far west as Moravia and Dalmatia. In search of better pasture, they were called Vlasi or Valaši by the Slavs.
States mentioned in medieval chronicles were:
 Wallachia – between the Southern Carpathians and the Danube (Ţara Românească in Romanian); Bassarab-Wallachia (Bassarab's Wallachia and Ungro-Wallachia or Wallachia Transalpina in administrative sources; Istro-Vlachia (Danubian Wallachia in Byzantine sources), and Velacia secunda on Spanish maps
 Moldavia – between the Carpathians and the Dniester river (Bogdano-Wallachia; Bogdan's Wallachia, Moldo-Wallachia or Maurovlachia; Black Wallachia, Moldovlachia or Rousso-Vlachia in Byzantine sources); Bogdan Iflak or Wallachia in Polish sources; L'otra Wallachia (the other Wallachia) in Genovese sources and Velacia tertia on Spanish maps
Transylvania – between the Carpathians and the Hungarian plain; Wallachia interior in administrative sources and Velacia prima on Spanish maps
Second Bulgarian Empire, between the Carpathians and the Balkan Mountains –  Regnum Bulgarorum et Blachorum in documents by Pope Innocent III
Terra Prodnicorum (or Terra Brodnici), mentioned by Pope Honorius III in 1222. Vlachs led by Ploskanea supported the Tatars in the 1223 Battle of Kalka. Vlach lands near Galicia in the west, Volhynia in the north, Moldova in the south and the Bolohoveni lands in the east were conquered by Galicia.
Bolokhoveni was Vlach land between Kiev and the Dniester in Ukraine. Place names were Olohovets, Olshani, Voloschi and Vlodava, mentioned in 11th-to-13th-century Slavonic chronicles. It was conquered by Galicia.

Regions and places are:
White Wallachia in Moesia
Great Wallachia (Μεγάλη Βλαχία; Megáli vlahía) in Thessaly
Small Wallachia (Μικρή Βλαχία; Mikrí vlahía) in Aetolia, Acarnania, Dorida and Locrida
Morlachia, in Lika-Dalmatia
Upper Valachia of Moscopole and Metsovon (Άνω Βλαχία; Áno Vlahía) in southern Macedonia, Albania and Epirus
Stari Vlah ("the Old Vlach"), a region in southwestern Serbia
Romanija mountain (Romanija planina) in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina
Vlașca County, a former county of southern Wallachia (derived from Slavic Vlaška)
Greater Wallachia, an older name for the region of Muntenia, southeastern Romania
Lesser Wallachia, an older name for the region of Oltenia, southwestern Romania
An Italian writer called the Banat Valachia citeriore ("Wallachia on this side") in 1550.
Valahia transalpina, including Făgăraș and Hațeg
Moravian Wallachia (), in the Beskid Mountains (Czech: Beskydy) of the Czech Republic.

Shepherd culture 

As national states appeared in the area of the former Ottoman Empire, new state borders were developed that divided the summer and winter habitats of many of the pastoral groups. During the Middle Ages, many Vlachs were shepherds who drove their flocks through the mountains of Central and Eastern Europe. Vlach shepherds may be found as far north as southern Poland (Podhale) and the eastern Czech Republic (Moravia) by following the Carpathians, the Dinaric Alps in the west, the Pindus Mountains in the south, and the Caucasus Mountains in the east.

Some researchers, like Bogumil Hrabak and Marian Wenzel, theorized that the origins of Stećci tombstones, which appeared in medieval Bosnia between 12th and 16th century, could be attributed to Vlach burial culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina of that times.

Legacy 
According to Ilona Czamańska  "for several recent centuries the investigation of the Vlachian ethnogenesis was so much dominated by political issues that any progress in this respect was incredibly difficult." Migration of the Vlachs may be the key for solving the problem of ethno genesis, but the problem is that many migrations were in multiple directions during the same time. These migrations were not just part of the Balkans and the Carpathians, they exist and in the Caucasus, the Adriatic islands and possibly over the entire region of the Mediterranean Sea. Because of this, our knowledge concerning primary migrations of the Vlachs and the ethnogenesis is more than modes.

See also 

 Oláh
 Morlachs
 Romania in the Early Middle Ages
 Statuta Valachorum
 Supplex Libellus Valachorum
 Vlach (Ottoman social class)
 Vlach law
 Vlachs in medieval Serbia
 Vlachs in the history of Croatia
 Vlachs in medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina

Notes

References 
 
 
 Theodor Capidan, Aromânii, dialectul aromân. Studiul lingvistic ("Aromanians, Aromanian dialect, Linguistic Study"), Bucharest, 1932
 Victor A. Friedman, "The Vlah Minority in Macedonia: Language, Identity, Dialectology, and Standardization" in Selected Papers in Slavic, Balkan, and Balkan Studies, ed. Juhani Nuoluoto, et al. Slavica Helsingiensa:21, Helsinki: University of Helsinki. 2001. 26–50. full text Though focussed on the Vlachs of North Macedonia, has in-depth discussion of many topics, including the origins of the Vlachs, their status as a minority in various countries, their political use in various contexts, and so on.
 Asterios I. Koukoudis, The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora, 2003, 
 George Murnu, Istoria românilor din Pind, Vlahia Mare 980–1259 ("History of the Romanians of the Pindus, Greater Vlachia, 980–1259"), Bucharest, 1913
 Ilie Gherghel, Câteva consideraţiuni la cuprinsul noţiunii cuvântului "Vlach". Bucuresti: Convorbiri Literare,(1920).
 Nikola Trifon, Les Aroumains, un peuple qui s'en va (Paris, 2005) ; Cincari, narod koji nestaje (Beograd, 2010)
 Steriu T. Hagigogu, "Romanus şi valachus sau Ce este romanus, roman, român, aromân, valah şi vlah", Bucharest, 1939
 G. Weigand, Die Aromunen, Bd.Α΄-B΄, J. A. Barth (A.Meiner), Leipzig 1895–1894.
 A. Keramopoulos, Ti einai oi koutsovlachoi [What are the Koutsovlachs?], publ 2 University Studio Press, Thessaloniki 2000.
 A.Hâciu, Aromânii, Comerţ. Industrie. Arte. Expasiune. Civiliytie, tip. Cartea Putnei, Focşani 1936.
 Τ. Winnifrith, The Vlachs. The History of a Balkan People, Duckworth 1987
 A. Koukoudis, Oi mitropoleis kai i diaspora ton Vlachon [Major Cities and Diaspora of the Vlachs], publ. University Studio Press, Thessaloniki 1999.
 Th Capidan, Aromânii, Dialectul Aromân, ed2 Εditură Fundaţiei Culturale Aromâne, București 2005

Further reading 
 Theodor Capidan, Aromânii, dialectul aromân. Studiul lingvistic ("Aromanians, The Aromanian dialect. A Linguistic Study"), Bucharest, 1932
 Gheorghe Bogdan, MEMORY, IDENTITY, TYPOLOGY: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY RECONSTRUCTION OF VLACH ETHNOHISTORY, B.A., University of British Columbia, 1992
 Adina Berciu-Drăghicescu, Aromâni, meglenoromâni, istroromâni : aspecte identitare şi culturale, Editura Universităţii din București, 2012,  
 Victor A. Friedman, "The Vlah Minority in Macedonia: Language, Identity, Dialectology, and Standardization" in Selected Papers in Slavic, Balkan, and Balkan Studies, ed. Juhani Nuoluoto, et al. Slavica Helsingiensa:21, Helsinki: University of Helsinki. 2001. 26–50. full text Though focussed on the Vlachs of North Macedonia, has in-depth discussion of many topics, including the origins of the Vlachs, their status as a minority in various countries, their political use in various contexts, and so on.
 Asterios I. Koukoudis, The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora, 2003, 
 George Murnu, Istoria românilor din Pind, Vlahia Mare 980–1259 ("History of the Romanians of the Pindus, Greater Vlachia, 980–1259"), Bucharest, 1913
 Nikola Trifon, Les Aroumains, un peuple qui s'en va (Paris, 2005) ; Cincari, narod koji nestaje (Beograd, 2010)
 Steriu T. Hagigogu, "Romanus şi valachus sau Ce este romanus, roman, român, aromân, valah şi vlah", Bucharest, 1939
 Franck Vogel, a photo-essay on the Valchs published by GEO magazine (France), 2010.
 John Kennedy Campbell, 'Honour Family and Patronage' A Study of Institutions and Moral Values in a Greek Mountain Community, Oxford University Press, 1974
 The Watchmen, a documentary film by Alastair Kenneil and Tod Sedgwick (USA) 1971 describes life in the Vlach village of Samarina in Epiros, Northern Greece
 Octavian Ciobanu, "The Role of the Vlachs in the Bogomils’ Expansion in the Balkans.", Journal of Balkan and Black Sea Studies, Year 4, Issue 7, December 2021, pp. 11-32.

External links 

 ROMÂNII BALCANICI  AROMÂNII—Maria Magiru about Aromanians 
 The Vlach Connection and Further Reflections on Roman History
 Orbis Latinus: Wallachians, Walloons, Welschen
 Vlachs in Greece
 Cultural appropriation of Vlachs' heritage
 French Vlachs Association (in Vlach, EN and FR)
 Studies on the Vlachs, by Asterios Koukoudis
 Vlachs' in Greece (in Greek)
 Consiliul A Tinirlor Armanj, Youth Aromanian community and their Projects (in Vlach, EN and RO)
 Old Wallachia—a short Czech film from 1955 depicting life of Vlachs in Czech Moravia

Eastern Romance people
Transhumant ethnic groups
The Vlachs  (endonym: Rumînji or Rumâni, ) are a Romanian-speaking ethnic minority in eastern Serbia, that considers themselves different from Romanians while some think they have origin from Wallachia that is now part of Romania and in same time they say to differ from Serbs while most of them speak the Serbian language. They mostly live in the Eastern Serbia region (roughly corresponding to the districts of Bor and Zaječar), but also in Braničevo and Pomoravlje districts. A small Vlach population also exists in Smederevo and Velika Plana (Podunavlje District), and in the municipalities of Aleksinac and Kruševac (Rasina District).

History 

Vlach could be an exonym for the eastern Romance-speaking community in the Balkans that was considered foreigners in medieval time, which resulted from the occupation and colonization of the region during the Roman Empire and besides that term Vlach is later used to describe not only a member of the population but some occupations like guardians soldiers or frontier troop and cattleman as they were jobs required by medieval state in that time. So Vlach term was practically in one period of medieval time under influence of states to describe some population not necessary ethnicity, because workers they could be from different national groups that often mixed between them-self over time and later created their own new identity under such states' influence.

Early records show Vlach population lived in many parts of today's coastal Montenegro and western Bosnia including Republic of Ragusa – today Dubrovnik and Dalmatia because they migrated or where colonized to that area. During the first half of the 13th century, Serbia kingdom started colonizing different Vlach groups on royal and ecclesiastical estates on the eastern part of the Mideast Adriatic coast. While in 13–14th centuries they represented only 1/20 part of the population of that area toward 15 century Vlach population saw a large increase towards 1/3 of the total population. That increase was from 3 factors: fertility, migrations of Vlach from Old Serbia and converting of other nationality into Vlach because Ottomans conquest and their attitude especially towards conquered Serb population that often resisted occupation. During the Ottoman rule to desolated area of Serbia from Kosovo to Smederevo, Ottomans settled large numbers of Vlachs.

Today, about three-quarters of the Vlach population speak the Romanian Ungurean subdialect which is similar to the Romanian spoken in Banat while Vlachs themselves consider that they have their own language. In the 19th century, other groups of Romanians originating in Oltenia (Lesser Wallachia) also settled south of the Danube. These are the Țărani (Carani, Царани), who form some 25% of the modern population and speak a variety of Oltenian dialect. From the 15th through the 18th centuries large numbers of Serbs also migrated across the Danube, but in the opposite direction, to both Banat and Țara Româneasca. Significant migration ended by the establishment of the kingdoms of Serbia and Romania in the second half of the 19th century. The Vlachs of northeastern Serbia share close linguistic and cultural ties with the Vlachs in the region of Vidin in Bulgaria as well as the Romanians of Banat and Oltenia (Lesser Wallachia). According to some Romanian sources, northeastern Serbia is home to several Vlach communities who speak dialects similar to ones in parts of western Romania: in Banat, Transylvania, and Oltenia (Lesser Wallachia). These are the Ungureni (Ungurjani, Унгурјани), Munteni (Munćani, Мунћани) and Bufeni (Bufani, Буфани).

Culture

Language 
 
The Vlachs speak a group of archaic Romanian varieties. However, it is known as "Vlach" in Serbia. The Romanian language of the Vlachs was not in use in local administration, not even in the few localities where members of the minority represent more than 15% of the population, where it would be allowed according to Serbian law, mostly because of lack of teachers and because Vlach is more oral than written language so it was not possible to have writings in Vlach. Since 2012 there is continuous effort to standardize Vlach language into written form and teaching of Vlach language has started in schools. While the Vlach standard written language is under development, the Vlach Council in Serbia in 2006 had debated use of Serbian as official language and Romanian language as literary language. That attitude of the Council is confirmed in its document in 2010 – endorsing Serbian language while written Vlach is developed. In 2012. The Council has decided to adopt proposition on written and oral Vlach language and started to work towards its standardization.

Religion
Most Vlachs of Eastern Serbia are Orthodox Christians who had belonged to the Serbian Orthodox Church since medieval times. The Vlachs celebrate the ospăț (hospitium, in Latin), called in Serbian praznik or slava as a family's annual ceremony and veneration of their patron saint that is a common tradition with Orthodox Serbs. Some Vlach political organizations also have slava. Stefan Nemanja is one of venerated patron among Vlach because he mentioned Vlach people in Hilandar monastery constitution including 170 Vlach who helped a monastery. The Serbian Orthodox church in Cetinje is called "Vlach church" – Vlaška crkva –  in remembrance of Vlachs who helped to build the church. According to memory, Vlach Ivan Borojev built the original Vlach church in Cetnije after coming from Old Vlach country near Zlatibor mountain.

The relative isolation of the Vlachs has permitted the survival of various pre-Christian religious customs and beliefs that are frowned upon by the Orthodox Church. Vlach magic rituals are well known across modern Serbia. Some customs of the Vlachs are very similar to those from Southern Romania (Wallachia).

In the last few decades, especially since 2001, Romanian Orthodox Church non-canonically tried to claim and convert Vlach Orthodox believers in Serbia as their own, and at the same time called them Romanians, but Vlach people in Serbia did not adhere to the Romanian Church, as the majority of Vlachs still venerate Serbian Orthodox saints and have their own slava. Some Romanian priests tried to have services in Serbia in places populated by Vlachs. Prior to this, there was no Romanian church in places where the Romanian Orthodox Church in Serbia is trying now to build them.

Music and folklore

Since 2009. there is international "Gergina" Vlach festival of music and folklore held in Serbia with many awards in different categories. There are also multiple efforts to save original Vlach poems and music and perform them to the modern public. There is also many cultural festivities including Balkan festival of traditional Vlach culture where traditional Vlach customs, dance, cloths and songs are presented.

Vlach cuisine

Žumijare in Vlach or Žmare - Serbian lat. is one of traditional Vlach dishes. It is made from corn flour, sheep meat, onions and cooking oil. Since 2009, there is festivity in Petrovac na Mlavi in cooking Žmare.

Demographics

In the 2002 census 40,054 people in Serbia declared themselves ethnic Vlachs, and 54,818 people declared themselves speakers of the Romanian "Vlach" language. The Vlachs of Serbia are recognized as a minority, like the Romanians of Serbia, who number 34,576 according to the 2002 census. On the census, the Vlachs declared themselves either as Serbs, Vlachs or Romanians. Therefore, the "real" number of people of Vlach origin could be much greater than the number of recorded Vlachs, both due to mixed marriages with Serbs and also Serbian national feeling among some Vlachs.

In the 2011 census 35,330 people in Serbia declared themselves ethnic Vlachs, and 43,095 people declared themselves speakers of Vlach. The Vlachs of Serbia are recognized as a minority. Therefore, the number of people of Vlach origin could be bigger than the number of recorded Vlachs, both due to mixed marriages with Serbs and also Serbian national feeling among some Vlachs.

Historical population

The following numbers from census data suggest the possible number of Vlachs:

1846: Vlach 96.215
1850: Vlach 104.807
1866: 127.402
1895: 159.590
1961: 1,330 Vlachs
1981: 135,000 people declared Vlach as their mother language (population figure given for the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
2002: 40,054 declared Vlachs; 54,818 people declared Vlach as their mother language (population figures given for entire Serbia); 39,953 declared Vlachs, 54,726 people declared Vlach as their mother language (population figures given for Central Serbia only)
2011: 35,330 declared Vlachs;

The Vlach population of Central Serbia is concentrated mostly in the region bordered by the Morava River (west), Danube River (north) and Timok River (south-east). See also: List of settlements in Serbia inhabited by Vlachs.

National Identity and etymology

The community is known as Vlasi ("Vlachs") – in Serbian and Vlachs are by some standards considered highly assimilated into Serbian society because it is mostly bilingual in the Serbian and Vlach languages, similar as Sorbs in Germany and in same time they are adhering to the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Some Romanians, as well as international linguists and anthropologists, consider Serbia's Vlachs to be a subgroup of Romanians. However, the results of the last census showed that most Vlachs of Eastern Serbia opted for the Serbian and Vlach exonym vlasi (= Vlachs) rather than rumuni (= Romanians).

Vlach national leders in Serbia regard Vlach as separate being and do not cognate to Romanians in the cultural and linguistic sense.

While Vlach culture have some traditional rituals and language in parts similar to Romanians in same time Vlach names and other customs provide conclusions that they are of Old Balkan people or Slovene ancestry and they share names with Serbs. There is many people folkloric society of Vlach that are preserving customs  and traditions of Vlachs.

Vlachs, since the effort of standardization of their language in 2012, started to have their own Vlachs language learned in schools in Serbia since 2017.

On the other hand, some Vlachs from Resava area consider themselves to be simply Serbs that speak Vlach.

Vlach is commonly used as a historical umbrella term for all Latin peoples in Southeastern Europe (Romanians proper or Daco-Romanians, Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians). After the foundation of the Romanian state in the 19th century, Romanians living in the Romanian Old Kingdom and in Austria-Hungary were only seldom called "Vlachs" by foreigners, the use of the exonym "Romanians" was encouraged even by some officials, and the Romanian population ceased to use the exonym "Vlach" for their own designation. Only in the Kingdom of Serbia and Bulgarian Kingdom, where the officials did not encourage the population to use the modern exonym "Romanian", was the old designation "Vlach" retained, but the term "Romanian" was used in statistical reports (but only up to the Interwar period, when the designation "Romanian" was changed into "Vlach").

Legal status

According to Constitution and Law on protecting freedom and right of national minorities in Serbia any discrimination towards Vlach is prohibited since they are representative people that have their own language and culture.  Since 2006. Vlachs had according to law formed National council of Vlachs in Serbia that has registered in mart 2007. in Serbia national registry of minorities.

Law on official using language and letters in Serbia has enabled Vlach language to be used in local communities administrations if they have enough representation in population. Beside that biggest obstacle to using Vlach language was that it is most oral language but since 2012. efforts are made toward standardization as written language since enabling with development of standardization soon to be used in local communities in schools and in administration with significant Vlach population.

The Romanian ethnonym for Vlach is Rumâni and the community Rumâni din Sârbie, translated into English as "Romanians from Serbia". They are also known in Romanian as Valahii din Serbia or Românii din Timoc. Although ethnographically and linguistically related to the Romanians, within the Vlach community there are divergences on whether or not they belong to the Romanian nation and whether or not their minority should be amalgamated with the Romanian minority in Vojvodina.

Romanian media gave false report that in a Romanian-Yugoslav agreement of November 4, 2002, the Yugoslav authorities agreed to recognize the Romanian identity of the Vlach population in Central Serbia, but the agreement was not implemented. while in actual agreement such thing is not written as there is no mention of Vlach's and document is publicly available for clarification.

In April 2005, 23 deputies from the Council of Europe, representatives from Hungary, Georgia, Lithuania, Romania, Moldova, Estonia, Armenia, Azerbaïdjan, Denmark, and Bulgaria protested against Serbia's treatment of this population.

The Senate of Romania in order to pressure Serbia to convert Vlach to Romanians postponed the ratification of Serbia's candidature for membership in the European Union until the legal status and minority right of the Romanian (Vlach) population in Serbia is clarified.

Predrag Balašević, president of one of many Vlach party's in Serbia, accused the government of assimilation by using the national Vlach organization against the interests of this minority in Serbia.

Since 2010, the Vlach National Council of Serbia has been led by members of leading Serbian parties (Democrat Party and Socialist Party), most of whom are ethnic Serbs having no relation to the Vlach/Romanian minority. Radiša Dragojević, the current president of Vlach National Council of Serbia, who is not a Vlach, but an ethnic Serb, stated that no one has the right to ask the Vlach minority in Serbia to identify themselves as Romanian or veto anything. 
As a response to mister Dragojević's statement, the cultural organizations Ariadnae Filum, Društvo za kulturu Vlaha – Rumuna Srbije, Društvo Rumuna – Vlaha "Trajan", Društvo za kulturu, jezik i religiju Vlaha – Rumuna Pomoravlja, Udruženje za tradiciju i kulturu Vlaha "Dunav", Centar za ruralni razvoj – Vlaška kulturna inicijativa Srbija and the Vlach Party of Serbia protested and stated that it was false.

Notable people 
 Branko Olar, one of the best known singers of Vlach folklore from Eastern Serbia, originating from the village of Slatina near Bor
 Staniša Paunović, a well-known Vlach folklore singer, originating from Negotin, from Eastern Serbia

See also 
 Romanians of Serbia
 Vlachs in medieval Serbia
 Vlachs of Croatia
 Aromanians
 Romanian language in Serbia

References

Sources

Further reading

Sorescu-Marinković, Annemarie. "The Vlachs of North-Eastern Serbia: Fieldwork and Field Methods Today." Symposia–Caiete de Etnologie şi Antropologie. 2006.
Sikimić, Biljana, and Annemarie Sorescu. "The Concept of Loneliness and Death among Vlachs in North-eastern Serbia." Symposia–Caiete de etnologie şi antropologie. 2004.
Marinković, Annemarie Sorescu. "Vorbarĭ Rumîńesk: The Vlach on line Dictionary." Philologica Jassyensia 8.1 (2012): 47–60.
Ivkov-Džigurski, Anđelija, et al. "The Mystery of Vlach Magic in the Rural Areas of 21st century Serbia." Eastern European Countryside 18 (2012): 61–83.
Marinković, Annemarie Sorescu. "Cultura populară a românilor din Timoc–încercare de periodizare a cercetărilor etnologice." Philologica Jassyensia 2.1 (2006): 73–92.

External links 
 Community of Vlachs of Serbia
 Maps of Vlachs in north-east Serbia
 History of the Romanians living on the South of the Danube (Romanian/Serbian)
 Vlach necropolises

 
Timok Valley
Ethnic groups in Serbia
Eastern Romance people Vlašić () is a mountain in geographical center of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its highest peak is Paljenik with an elevation of 1,933 m. It is famous for its pastures, cattle-breeding and cheese. It is closest to the town of Travnik, which it overlooks.

Climate
The average winter temperature is 1 °C (29 °F) while the average summer temperature is 14.2 °C (60.8 °F). In the wintertime snowfall is abundant with an average snow coverage of up to 5 months in accumulation between 1.5 and 2.1 meters.

Culture
 
The toponym is derived from vlasi, "Vlachs", a transhumant people. Academics like Mark Vego believe that the Vlachs, remnant of the Roman Empire, brought one of the trademarks of Vlašić, the Vlašić cheese, in around 1000. It is originally made from fresh sheep milk, but also cow milk, and then left to ripen for two to three months. By perfecting the recipe, the Vlachs passed on the tradition to the cattle breeders from the surrounding mountains. Today, the cheese is produced throughout the area and is regarded one of the traditions of the region. In addition to the cheese, there are two other trademarks, the Tornjak dog and Pramenka sheep. The Tornjak is believed to have existed for more than a millennia, bred to guard from wolves and bears. Its etymology is connected to Neo-Latin torni acca, "turn here".

History
The mountain was an operational site of the World War II in Yugoslavia.

Bosnian war 

During the Bosnian War, it was held by the Bosnian Serb army (VRS). It was tactically important, overlooking Travnik which was held by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH). The 7th Muslim Brigade attacked the mountain in May 1994. It was taken over by the ARBiH sometime before the Dayton Agreement, and subsequently incorporated into the Federation of B&H.

Tourism

The mountain is a major center for winter tourism due to its excellent accommodation for skiing, snowboarding and other winter sports. It is also a popular destination for summer and eco tourism with many hiking trails and undisturbed wilderness areas.

References

External links

 Official Website 
 Vlasic Ski Resort 
 Eko-FIS Vlašić

Mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Geography of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Travnik